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Zdeněk Michael František Burian (11 February 1905 – 1 July 1981) was a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
painter, book illustrator and palaeoartist. Burian's artwork played a central role in the development of palaeontological reconstruction and he is regarded as one of the most influential palaeoartists of all time. Burian began his career as an illustrator in the 1920s and became famous in his native
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
for his illustrations of novels, mainly adventure novels and classic works. His illustrations of the novel ''The Mammoth Hunters'' (1937) by Eduard Štorch gained the attention of the Czech palaeontologist Josef Augusta, who collaborated with Burian as a scientific advisor. Their collaboration resulted in Burian's work being used in a number of books on prehistoric life written by Augusta, culminating in a series of six great illustrated volumes published in 1956–1966, the most famous of which was ''Prehistoric Animals'' (1956). After Augusta's death in 1968, Burian worked with numerous other scientists. He continued to produce artwork for further books, as well as for magazines and museums. It is not known precisely how many paintings Burian produced, with estimates ranging between 1000 and 20,000. Between 500 and 800 of his paintings were prehistoric reconstructions. In total, his illustrations were published in over 500 books, out of which approximately two dozen were on prehistory. Many of his paintings have reached an iconic status; they were extensively copied by later artists and influenced conceptions of dinosaurs and how they were depicted in popular culture.


Early life and career

Zdeněk Michael František Burian was born on 11 February 1905 in the town of Kopřivnice, then part of
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
in
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. In his youth, Burian's talent for art was noticed by his art teacher A. P. Bartoň, who encouraged him to pursue further artistic education. In 1919, Burian graduated from a municipal school and began an education in art at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. Burian did not complete his education at the academy. He completed his second year in July 1920 and began the third year, though dropped out in the fall of 1920. Instead of pursuing further studies, Burian began to make a living as an illustrator. The first book to be illustrated by Burian, a Czech edition of
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
's '' Kidnapped'', was released in 1921. In the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
(i.e. 1918–1939), Burian became famous in Czechoslovakia as an illustrator of adventure novels and classic works. He collaborated with numerous publishers and illustrated Czech releases of the works of authors such as
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
, Karl May,
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
,
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
, and
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
. Burian also illustrated books by Czech authors, such as Jaroslav Foglar, as well as explorers and travellers, such as Emil Holub,
Alberto Vojtěch Frič Alberto Vojtěch Frič (, 8 September 1882 Prague – 4 December 1944 Prague) was a famous Czech botanist, ethnographer, writer and explorer. He undertook 8 voyages to America, discovered, described and catalogued many species of cactus ...
, and . In terms of style, Burian was very much influenced by artists of the nineteenth century and never leaned towards any particular artistic movement. Although Burian continued to paint artwork for adventure novels through most of his life and such art accounts for the greatest share of his output, he is for the most part only known internationally for his palaeontological and palaeoanthropological artwork. Burian is most well-known both in the Czech Republic and internationally for his oil paintings. In addition to these, he also produced many
gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...
paintings and line drawings.


Palaeoart


Collaboration with Josef Augusta (1937–1968)

Burian began painting artwork depicting prehistoric life in the 1930s, the first completed painting being a 1935 piece depicting two temnospondyls. He is known to have been inspired to pursue palaeoart by the paintings of the American painter Charles R. Knight, with additional inspiration perhaps also coming in the form of childhood experiences at fossil sites. In the twentieth century, it was common for palaeontological reconstructions to only be produced through the efforts of paired artists and palaeontological advisors and authors. There were several such pairs, although the pairing of Burian and the palaeontologist Josef Augusta remains one of the most famous. Augusta approached Burian about collaborating after Burian illustrated the adventure novel ''The Mammoth Hunters'' (''Širým světem'') by Eduard Štorch in 1937. Burian's first painting known to have been completed with the advice and oversight of Augusta was a 1938 oil painting depicting ''Trachodon''s being attacked by a ''
Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...
''. This painting, along with others, was published in the early 1940s in serials written by Augusta, called ''The Wonders of the Prehistoric World'' (''Divy prasvěta''). Prior to the end of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, Augusta and Burian's work was suppressed by the occupation authorities. Through the late 1940s, Burian illustrated several of Augusta's palaeontology-themed short stories. He would through the 1950s also go on to illustrate a number of books, collaborate with other researchers, and provide paintings for museums and other institutions. The most well-known result of Augusta and Burian's collaboration was a series of six great volumes on prehistoric life published by Atria; ''Prehistoric Animals'' (1956), ''Prehistoric Man'' (1960), ''Prehistoric Reptiles and Birds'' (1961), ''The Book of Mammoths'' (1962), ''Prehistoric Sea Monsters'' (1964), and ''The Age of Monsters'' (1966). These large-format books were first only published in Czechoslovakia but eventually reached international publishers and garnered Burian popularity worldwide in countries such as Germany, France, England, Japan, and Italy. The American palaeontologist
Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould ( ; September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American Paleontology, paleontologist, Evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, and History of science, historian of science. He was one of the most influential and widely re ...
assessed ''Prehistoric Animals'' as one of the three most influential books on prehistory published in the twentieth century.


Later work (1968–1981)

Following Augusta's death in 1968, Burian collaborated with various other scientists. This later period of his career in palaeontological art also coincided with the discoveries and art trends of the Dinosaur renaissance, to which Burian reacted positively and worked to adapt. Even before the Dinosaur Renaissance, Burian worked to depict dinosaurs as active animals with mammal or bird-like musculature and limb movements, unlike many artists of his time. Among the artwork produced by Burian in the early 1970s is a painting of ''
Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in th ...
'' as an active and fast-moving creature, produced at a time when
Robert Bakker Robert Thomas Bakker (born March 24, 1945) is an American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded). Along with his mentor ...
's arguments for such depictions were still relatively unknown. Although Burian's early paintings of
sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...
dinosaurs tended to depict them as sluggish animals, in-line with conceptions at the time, his later (after c. 1970) sauropods show them as active and fully terrestrial animals. In some cases, Burian was the first to paint certain ideas about the behaviours of prehistoric life, such as scenes with pterosaurs feeding their young. Prominent scientists with whom Burian collaborated and illustrated books after 1968 include Zdeněk Špinar, Josef Wolf, Josef Beneš, and
Vratislav Mazák Vratislav Mazák (; 22 June 1937 – 9 September 1987) was a Czech biologist who specialized in paleoanthropology, mammalogy and taxonomy. He was also a painter, often illustrating his books about animals and men. Born at Kutná Hora, he was a p ...
. Under the advice of these researchers, Burian was able to incorporate new discoveries into his paintings, such as including
pycnofibres Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the Order (biology), order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosau ...
on
pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...
s. Paintings produced by Burian after 1968 have sometimes been described as more "flat and uninteresting" than his previous work; he was during this time requested by publishers to portray animals in this way and to showcase them as individual figures rather than as part of a group. Many of the books published during this period nevertheless also reused many of the paintings and illustrations Burian had produced during the preceding time with Augusta, sometimes in slightly updated versions. In the 1960s, Burian also began collaborating with international authors and publishers, particularly in Italy.


Palaeoartistic style

Burian had no access to the actual fossil material of the different prehistoric animals he illustrated and painted. For the most part his work was based on illustrations and published descriptions of the bones. In the vast majority of cases, he only had a single photograph to serve as the basis of a painting. Despite this, Burian's work paid close attention to skeletal anatomy and form. He is for instance considered to in many cases surpass Charles R. Knight in the adherence to the underlying skeletal anatomy of his animals, despite Knight often working more closely with museums and having access to their collections. Burian's process of reconstruction was a lengthy one. He began by creating several sketches for each scene, the most important of which were skeletal reconstructions of the animals to be depicted. These skeletal reconstructions, sometimes done in different poses, were sometimes followed by sketches of their musculature. Burian's artwork has been described as having a certain romantic touch, absent in the majority of palaeoart produced after his time. The paintings are for the most part free of scenes depicting fighting or other brutality and are almost entirely without blood. In the few cases where fighting animals are depicted, it is usually just before any damage is done. There are several scenes where the animals, although depicted in a naturalistic manner, are imbued with personality, sympathy or antipathy, such as depictions of an old and lonely ''
Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species found worldwide have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Taxonomy (bi ...
'' in a "cemetery of its species" (painted in 1950) or a famous painting of a "heroic" '' Tarbosaurus'' (painted in 1970). Burian's palaeoartistic work was not limited to paintings of dinosaurs but depicted various prehistoric animals, as well as prehistoric plants and landscapes. He very rarely used the "overcrowded" format common in some historical palaeoart; this style pushed together several animal species into a confined landscape in order to be able to depict all of them. Burian's palaeoart is noteworthy for its uses of plants and environments. Many palaeoartists before (including Knight) and after Burian were highly "zoocentric", paying little attention to plants and relegating them either to simplistic renditions in the background or omitting them entirely. Compared with Knight's nearly universal use of plants such as palm trees and grass in the background, Burian's selection of plant life almost always appears plausible. His renditions of plants, although often also confined to the background, were always detailed and naturalistic. Several of Burian's paintings also include plant life as prominently as animals and some of his scenes are entirely devoid of animal life.


Personal life

In the summer of 1924, Burian met Františka Loudová near Vyšehrad in Prague. The two were married on 14 February 1927. On 11 May that year, the couple had a daughter, Eva Hochmanová Burianová. Burian and his family lived in
Vršovice Vršovice is a cadastral district of Prague. All of Vršovice lies within the Prague 10 administrative district. Vršovice is located south-east of the city centre. It borders Vinohrady to the north, Nusle to the south-west, Michle to the south and ...
in Prague until 1928, when they moved to an apartment in Žižkov (also in Prague). In 1956, they moved to Burian's most famous residence, a villa in Podolí. In addition to painting prehistoric life out of personal interest and commissions, Burian saw his palaeoart as socially significant in that his paintings were used to spread scientific knowledge. Burian had a particular interest in
human evolution ''Homo sapiens'' is a distinct species of the hominid family of primates, which also includes all the great apes. Over their evolutionary history, humans gradually developed traits such as Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism, bipedalism, de ...
and rejected the racist ideas that were still present in scholarship during much of his life; he is quoted to have said that further studies on human origins had the potential to "prove the absurdity of racist theories." Františka died on 18 October 1979. Burian survived her by little over a year. He died on 1 July 1981 at the Na Františku hospital in Prague due to complications after surgery on the
abdominal aorta In human anatomy, the abdominal aorta is the largest artery in the abdominal cavity. As part of the aorta, it is a direct continuation of the descending aorta (of the thorax). Structure The abdominal aorta begins at the level of the diaphragm ...
.


Legacy

Many Burian paintings have become celebrated images of palaeontology and palaeoanthropology. In his native Czech Republic, his paintings are considered national treasures. Although he never achieved quite the same level of international recognition, Burian is sometimes regarded as a European counterpart to Charles R. Knight and he is widely seen as another master in the field. He is regarded as probably the most prolific painter of prehistoric life in twentieth-century Europe and one of the most influential palaeoartists. Particular palaeoartistic paintings by Burian that reached an iconic status and became widespread in the second half of the twentieth century include his ''
Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived througho ...
'' with '' Trachodon'' (1938), ''
Brachiosaurus ''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about . It was first Species description, described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 in paleontology, 1903 from fossi ...
'' (1941), ''Iguanodon'' (1950), ''
Brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from the Ancient Greek, Greek words , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in present-day United States during the Late Jurassic period. It was describe ...
'' (1950), and ''Tarbosaurus'' (1970). Burian's ''Brachiosaurus'' is one of the most widely used dinosaur paintings ever created. His ''Iguanodon'' painting has been referred to as "the most valuable work in the entire history of palaeoart". It is not known precisely how many paintings Burian produced over the course of his career since he himself never compiled a listing of his work. His palaeontological and palaeoanthropological paintings are thought to number between 500 and 800, and the total number of paintings (including on other subjects) range from anywhere between 1000 and 20,000. In total, Burian's artwork and illustrations have been published in over 500 books. He also illustrated approximately 500 short stories and painted around 600 book covers. Numerous exhibitions with Burian's artwork have been held in the Czech Republic, the largest of which was held in
Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...
in 2005. Several of Burian's paintings and designs have been extensively copied by other artists. Some have even been used as the basis for merchandise, including toy designs. Burian's artwork was also influential when it came to depictions of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life in popular culture. Already in 1955, his designs served as the basis of the dinosaurs depicted in the Czech stop-motion film '' Journey to the Beginning of Time''. It is possible that Burian's dinosaurs were among the inspirations for the original design of
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
. In 2015,
Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...
commemorated his 110th birthday. One of the streets in Burian's home town of Kopřivnice is named after him. In 2000, the
minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
7867 Burian was named after him. The first validly described dinosaur found in the Czech Republic was in 2017 named '' Burianosaurus augustai'' in honour of both Burian and Josef Augusta.


Partial bibliography


Palaeoartistic illustration

In total, Burian illustrated around two dozen books on palaeontology and palaeonthropology, as well as numerous magazine articles. In addition to several books published in Czechoslovakia, he produced paintings for various international books, including encyclopedias, textbooks, and children's books. The list below includes only the main works illustrated by Burian. Illustrated books on prehistoric life written by Josef Augusta (1956–1966) *''Prehistoric Animals'' (1956), 60 plates *''Prehistoric Man'' (1960), 52 plates *''Prehistoric Reptiles and Birds'' (1961), 39 plates *''The Book of Mammoths'' (1962), 19 plates *''Prehistoric Sea Monsters'' (1964), 21 plates *''The Age of Monsters'' (1966), 23 plates A seventh volume in the series, an entirely palaeobotanical book with the working title ''History of the Forests'', was being prepared in 1967–1968. Burian painted 17 new paintings for this book, though it was never completed due to Augusta's death early in 1968. Illustrated books on prehistoric life by other authors (1972–1980) After Augusta's death, Burian worked with other scientists and illustrated four more main works on prehistoric life that were translated into English. * ''Life Before Man'' (1972), written by Zdeněk Špinar. * ''The Dawn of Man'' (1978), written by Josef Wolf. * ''Prehistoric Animals and Plants'' (1979), written by Josef Beneš. * ''Prehistoric Man'' (1980), written by
Vratislav Mazák Vratislav Mazák (; 22 June 1937 – 9 September 1987) was a Czech biologist who specialized in paleoanthropology, mammalogy and taxonomy. He was also a painter, often illustrating his books about animals and men. Born at Kutná Hora, he was a p ...
. ''Life Before Man'' reused 130 paintings from the time of the earlier series of books by Augusta, although many of them had never before been published, and also included 27 new oil paintings commissioned specifically for it. ''The Dawn of Man'' likewise included both earlier artwork and new palaeoanthropological art produced in the 1970s. Both ''Prehistoric Animals and Plants'' and ''Prehistoric Man'' were "pocket-sized", contrary to earlier books. Both reused many older images (often cropped due to their smaller format) but also included new artwork, with ''Animals and Plants'' featuring sixteen new colour gouaches and ''Man'' featuring seven new gouaches and seven new oil paintings.


Posthumous art collections

Only a few attempts have been made to collect Burian's artwork in modern books. In addition to the volumes listed below, some of Burian's palaeoart was featured along work by several other 'classic' palaeoartists in the 2017 art book ''Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric Past'' by Zoë Lescaze. * ''Die verlorenen Welten des Zdeněk Burian'' (2013), German-language art book collecting 230 of Burian's palaeoartistic paintings. Since 2016, much of Burian's artwork has been collected and published in large Czech-language
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
s in the series "The Worlds of Zdeněk Burian", a project headed by Ondřej Müller, Rostislav Walica, and Ondrej Neff. The series is slated to encompass six volumes, out of which four have so far been published. * ''Dobrodružný svět Zdeňka Buriana'' (2016), adventure novel artwork 1921–1947. * ''Podivuhodný svět Zdeňka Buriana'' (2018), artwork produced for Jules Verne novels 1930s–1940s. * ''Zapomenutý svět Zdeňka Buriana'' (2020), obscure and often never before published artwork. * ''Pravěký svět Zdeňka Buriana'' (2022–), three-volume set of monographs collecting Burian's palaeoart. ** ''I: Od vzniku Země po zánik dinosaurů'' (2022),
Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...
and
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
artwork. The volume includes 412 illustrations (not just paintings but also other illustrations and sketches), encompassing all of Burian's known pre-Cenozoic palaeoart. ** ''II: Monstra Třetihor a Čtvrtohor'' (upcoming 2024),
Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
artwork. ** ''III: Cesta k Člověku'' (upcoming), palaeoanthropological artwork


References


External links


Zdenek Burian Museum

Zdenek Burian memorabilia






{{DEFAULTSORT:Burian, Zdenek 1905 births 1981 deaths People from Kopřivnice Artists from the Margraviate of Moravia Czech illustrators Paleoartists 20th-century Czech painters Czech male painters 20th-century Czech male artists